Meridian Matters October 2014 Website: www.bsa-meridian.org Contacts District Chair Commissioner Executive Advancement Camping Camporee Communications/Website Training Finance Friends of Scouting Membership Meridian Matters Editor Kent Screechfield Sue Oki Tim Welty George Gavrell Dave Newton Dave Newton Jim Bergsten open open Rand Mahoney Dan Chevez Chris Knaus 570-1999 831-9380 674-6125 837-6248 963-8065 963-8065 838-4615 OA Advisor Popcorn Program & Activities R/T Commissioner R/T – Cub R/T – Scout R/T – Venturing Scouting for Food Eagle Packets Eagle Projects Eagle Board 899-3840 837-0936 934-3493 Dennis Bleile Mike Hoffman Adrianne Kordelos Gregg Ankenman Steve Tom open open M’Lu Knaus Debbie Wiley Nicholas Hall Brent Henderson 973-0420 650-224-2143 510-813-8051 510-772-0229 934-3493 788-4805 837-3165 212-5453 Calendar October 2014 November 2014 2 8 16 23 23 6 Eagle Orient./Packet & Proj. Review (D-LDS) 8 Scouting for Food Bag Distribution 12 District Committee Meeting (D-LDS) 15 Scouting for Food Pick-up 20 Eagle Board of Review (D-LDS) 20 District Roundtable (Note date change) (SR-LDS) Save The Date Jan 31 - LEAD Eagle Orientation/Packet & Project Review Board (D-LDS) District Committee meeting (D-LDS) Eagle Board of Review (D-LDS) Roundtable meeting & Webelos II night (SR-LDS) Scouting for Food Orientation, Hanger Distribution (SR-LDS) Contact M’Lu Knaus, District Scouting for Food Coordinator, with questions. [email protected] 925-934-3493 October Roundtable Our next Roundtable meeting will be October 23rd, 7:309:00 p.m. at the LDS Church, 5025 Crow Canyon Road, San Ramon. Break-out session topics include: - Boy Scouts: Webelos to Scout Transition – Parents of Webelos are invited to learn about area troops and the transition from Webelos to boy scout. - Cubs: Derby’s/Pack Good Turns/Give Goodwill. - Committees: Scouting for Food Planning. - Varsity Huddle: None. - Order of the Arrow: Moluk Apanuc Monthly Meeting Don’t miss it! Bring a friend! Webelos to Boy Scout Transition Webelos II parents (no scouts please) should plan to attend the October Roundtable meeting on Oct. 23rd. Learn more about the Webelos to Boy Scout transition and meet representatives from Troops in your area. While joining a particular Troop is generally a Scout's decision, this event will give parents an opportunity to meet briefly with many Troops and narrow down the search on behalf of the Scout. Each Troop has its own personality and areas of extra focus such as: Leadership, Reverence, Outdoor activities, Service to others, etc. and this event will allow parents to find Troops that meet the Scouts interests, family values, and favorable meeting location (i.e., close to home, at my son's future Middle School, or at our Church). Most families narrow their search to 3 or 4 Troops before they start attending Troop recruiting events. Questions ? Contact Dan Chevez (925) 837-0936 [email protected] Scouting for Food Thank you for submitting your Unit SFF Coordinator contact information. Next step: Unit Coordinators should (1) submit by Oct 17 an approximate number of scouts participating; and (2) ensure there is a representative at the Oct 23 Roundtable SFF meeting to get instructions, pick up the door hangers, and coordinate with any other unit in their given area. Key dates: - Oct 17 Deadline to submit number of scouts participating from each unit - Oct 23 6:45 pm, prior to Roundtable. Instructional meeting and distribution of door hangers to Unit SFF Coords - Nov 8 Distribution of door hangers by scouts - Nov 15 Collection of food by scouts Youth Protection Training Did you know that it is a requirement that all Scouters are trained in youth protection? MDSC policy is that all Scouters to submit proof of YPT with any original registration or recharter; there will no longer be a 30-day grace period. The good news is that as of mid-September the Meridian District has 74% of its members trained, 21% had expired training and 5% have never been trained. The other bit of good news is that Youth Protection Training is easy and readily available online at www.scouting.org/training/adult.aspx. Beat the December -1- Meridian Matters October 2014 Website: www.bsa-meridian.org rush! Ensure your YPT training is up-to-date for your benefit and the benefit of your Scouts. Friends of Scouting (FOS) Our thanks to all who supported Scouting through the 2014 FOS campaign. Through your generosity, our District raised $117k in pledges and donations; 99% of our goal. Thanks! Any units with outstanding pledges or contribution please submit these as soon as possible as we will be wrapping-up our 2014 campaign soon before moving on to 2015. For more information, contact Rand Mahoney, 899-3840, [email protected]. Adult Training For a great training website and to get more detailed information, go to http://www.bsa-mdsc.org/basic-leadertraining or http://www.3districttraining.org/ - Position Specific for Boy Scout, Venture, Varsity Sept 27, 2014 - Advance Camp, Antioch - Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation (BALOO): Oct 11, 2014 - Girl Scouts Cordelia Program Center, Cordelia - Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills: Oct 10-11, 2014 - Girl Scouts Cordelia Prog. Center, Cordelia Oct 24-25, 2014 - Camp Fetterman, Brentwood - Outdoor Webelos Leader Training (OWL): Oct 10-11, 2014 - Girl Scouts Cordelia Prog. Center, Cordelia Oct 2525, 2014 - Camp Fetterman, Brentwood - The 2014 calendar for High Adventure Training is available at: http://www.bsamdsc.org/sites/default/files/HAT%202014%20Flyer.p df For more info, contact Jerry Dees, [email protected], 8301804. Recruiting It is never too late to bring a new family into Scouting. If you need ideas or assistance with recruiting, contact District Membership Chair, Dan Chevez, at 925-8370936. [email protected]. Harvest in the Vineyards A great opportunity to taste exquisite wines and sample food from local restaurants – all while supporting Scouting! Saturday Nov 1st. 3 – 7 p.m. Carriage House at Charles Krug Winery, St. Helena. Information at www.bsa-mdsc.org/auction Opportunities to Support the District! Our committees are recruiting for additional support. If you’d like to get involved more at the District level just let us know – there are always opportunities. All levels of commitment are possible; it’s only an hour a week.  In particular we are seeking to fill the following roles: Order of the Arrow Attention Arrowmen! Come to the Fall OA Banquet, Saturday, October 25th, Camp Herms! Meridian OA Chapter (Moluk Apanuc) typically meets at the same time/date and location as Roundtable. Contact Christian Campbell or Dennis Bleile to confirm. For questions or information, please contact Christian Campbell (Moluk Apanuc Chief) at [email protected]; or Dennis Bleile (Chapter Adviser) at (925) 216-1086 or [email protected]. - Unit Commissioners Communications Coord. Finance Chair Asst FOS Chair - Training Chair - Asst Camping Chair - Boy Scout R’table Commish. - Asst Finance Chair -Youth Protection Coordinator Contact: Kent Screechfield, [email protected], or Sue Oki, [email protected], for more information. Leader Education and Discovery (LEAD) 2015 January 31, 2015 at DVC, Pleasant Hill. Learn about the upcoming changes in Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Varsity, and Venture Programs, position specific training, cooking in a dutch or box oven, chemistry for cubs, where to go backpacking and/or hiking, pack/troop games and more....All adults (Uniformed Leaders, Committee Members, Interested Parents, District & Council volunteers) are encouraged to attend. Registration opens soon! Discounted early registration (includes lunch!) $45.00. Youth $10.00. For more information or to register, go to: http://www.bsamdsc.org/training/adult/leader-education-and-discoverylead A Remembrance With sadness, we note the recent passing of Chuck Savage. Chuck was a dedicated Scouter serving as Iron Horse District Chair and on the MDSC Executive Board as Vice President of Program. Meridian Scouters will recall Chuck’s enthusiasm as a trainer and leader in many Wood Badge or Outdoor Leader Skills classes. He will be sadly missed by all in our Scouting community. -2-